Sam Dancer made his fourth appearance at this year’s CrossFit Games and his first as a Masters athlete. Dancer, 35, decided to compete in the 35-39 Masters division this year and was the favorite entering the competition after finishing first in the Age Group Semifinal.
Unfortunately, Dancer would only complete the first 1,400-meter run on the first event, Three Ways Down, before withdrawing from the competition with a bicep injury.
The initial diagnosis was a torn bicep, but further evaluation after the Games showed Dancer had a ruptured distal biceps tendon. The injury would require surgery.
A distal biceps rupture is when the tendon that attaches the biceps muscle to the elbow is torn from the bone. It generally occurs while lifting heavy and makes up only 3% of all biceps tendon ruptures most occur near the shoulder). It generally takes four to six weeks before strengthening exercises can begin on the biceps muscle.
Yesterday, Dancer had surgery to repair his right bicep and now begins his road to recovery. Just a day post-surgery, Dancer shared he will be on the Concept2 BikeErg (affiliate link) with his custom NOBULL cycling shoes along with the Vitruvian Trainer+.
But if anyone knows how to come back from an injury, it’s Dancer. In 2016, Dancer fractured his fibula during the first event of the Games, The Ranch Trail Run. Dancer would go on to win the next event, Ranch Deadlift Ladder. He would go on to finish the competition, taking 32nd overall.
The following year, Dancer was one of the many athletes who suffered a pec tear during Regionals. For Dancer, it happened in training before the competition. Like the year before Dancer was able to finish the weekend, but was definitely hampered by the injury.
But after two straight years of setbacks, Dancer came back stronger and went team. In 2018, CrossFit Invictus X finished 2nd at the Games. And the following year, Invictus X took 7th overall.
So get ready for next year as we fully expect Dancer to come back even stronger in 2023.
